"Then what happens?"
"I somehow get through the vows, and he has to practically drag me down the aisle after because I'm so distraught. Everyone is clapping and cheering and thinks I'm crying from happiness. We get to the front doors and open them up, and I see red everywhere, but then everything turns to white light, and I'm floating."
Hunter wipes my cheeks.
"So, I think I die. I'm eventually going to have to marry him, and right after, he's going to hurt me so badly, he'll kill me."
The shaking of my body is nothing compared to the shame I feel for all the years I was with Carlos. I let him have more and more control at the beginning of our relationship. Everyone tried to warn me to get out, but I didn't listen.
When he hit me the first time, that was my chance. It was early on in our relationship. I still had friends and family around. I could have had an opportunity to be free of him. Maybe, had I gotten out then, I wouldn't have lost everything that made me the person I used to be.
But I didn't. I let him convince me it was an accident and it would never happen again. And the more incidents that occurred, the more they became my fault.
Hunter moves my head to his chest and he holds it there. "You will not die by his hand."
Being in Hunter's arms is safe. But I know it isn't reality. I've lived on the other side.
"You underestimate him."
"No. We're going to go far away from here, and he will not be the reason for your demise."
"There's no way to guarantee that. And eventually you won't be with me."
Hunter's body stiffens. He tilts my chin up. "Why won't I be with you?"
I twist my hands in my lap. "I'm not ignorant. Once you get me to safety, you'll go back to your life."
"Is that what you believe?"
"What other scenario is there?"
Hunter scowls. "I told you I was yours. I recall you choosing me. Did I hear that wrong?"
"No."
"Are you throwing me away when we get to our final destination?"
"What? No."
"Then why would I go back to any life that doesn't have you in it?"
He waits for me to speak. The only sounds are the monkeys howling from afar.
"I don't have anything to offer." I blurt out.
His eyes widen. "Why would you ever say that?"
"I... I'm broken—full of issues and baggage. You have your life together. Why would you want that?"
"We're all broken, somehow, Flower. But I still see you. And you're what I want."
"You want me after this is over?" I don't understand how he possibly could.
"Without a doubt."
"Really?"
"Yes. Are you still going to want me?" he asks.
I'm too choked up to answer besides nodding and an, "Mm-hmm."
He lets out a sigh, as if in relief. So I seal my answer with a kiss.
When my toes are curling, he pulls back. "When's the last time you had a proper bed and pillow?"
"Over four months."
A mischievous expression appears. He rises with me in his arms. "Then let's go find a bedroom, and I can show you how good it is to be in my bed."
12
Hunter
It's still dark out. Vanessa and I were up for most of the night and early into the morning. I got a few hours of sleep, which is what my body is trained to do on missions. Vanessa is sleeping soundly, and I hate to wake her, but we need to get moving.
I'm not sure if Ryker and Julieta came inside the house or stayed in the other building, but, regardless, we all need to get across the border.
I put my lips on Vanessa's collarbone and move up her neck. I keep my voice as low and soft as possible. "Flower, wake up."
"Mmm," she softly moans, still asleep.
I don't want to scare her and initially thought I would wait until she opened her eyes, but I can't help myself and have to touch her. I'm like a child in front of a jar, and she's the chocolate chip cookie.
I drag my finger over her cleavage and stomach then slide into her sex.
Her eyelids flutter, and her breath deepens. I move my lips up her neck and lick behind her ear.
"Oh..."
"Flower," I say in my softest voice while circling my finger on her clit.
"Mmm," she repeats, and my cock hardens against her thigh.
She's an angel of intoxication. Her beauty is sweet. Her sexiness is seductive. It's like God himself created her just for me, knowing that she's everything I could ever want or need.
She still hasn't opened her eyes, but her chest rises and falls faster. I dip down and outline her nipples with my tongue before gently consuming them with my lips.
Her hands glide through my hair and clutch me closer. Her legs widen, and she oscillates her hips into me.
"Oh...oh...mmm," she quietly whimpers as her back arches and she pushes her chest more into my mouth.
I pay attention to each of her breasts then greedily devour her lips.
She grips my head tighter and comes, shaking hard, then slides her hands down my body and tugs me, encouraging me to roll on top of her.
As soon as I move, she pretzels her legs around my body and presses me closer to her.
My hard flesh slides into her wet heat, and I groan. She's heaven on earth. A fine wine that you want to savor and not drink but have to.
The temptation is too alluring.
The taste too distinctive.
The uniqueness too rare to pass over.
And when her eyes open with a heady concoction of lust and need, potent for me, it drives my insatiable desire for her deeper, beyond what I could ever imagine or begin to comprehend.
She's a woman but also a treasure. She’s meant to be honored and worshipped, and a possession only meant for one holder.
"You're mine, Flower," I murmur.
"Yes. Oh..."
I suck on the spot on her neck I discovered the previous night, and her song-like cries get louder.
Her fingernails dig into my ass muscles, and I thrust quicker as her walls ripple with spasms. "Hunter."
My name on her lips is like an adrenaline high. It boils in my blood, spilling into every inch of my veins.
"Say it again, Flower."
"H-H... Hunter," she breathes, and her flush deepens.
I hold her head in my hands. I may claim and devour her, but she has full ownership of me. "I'm yours."
"Mine." she breathes.
"Always, Flower."
The pursuit of pleasuring her beyond what any man ever has is like an immortal gift. And it's one I want to unwrap over and over and never fully open.
Her face scrunches, and her mouth forms an O so gorgeous, I take a snapshot in my mind, filing it away as one of my favorite visions.
My toes curl as my balls tighten. On her second high, I combust, pumping my seed so furiously in her. I collapse into her neck, exhausted from what she's done to me.
"Good morning," she murmurs.
"Good morning to you." I pick my head up and steal another loin-burning kiss.
"This is better than sneaking back on the air mattress."
"Yes, and the best part is I'm not done with you yet."